Ukiah Unified schools grappling with federal budget cuts

The passage of Proposition 30 last year added millions of dollars to the Ukiah Unified School District's budget, but Chief Business Official Sandra Harrington said there are still challenges ahead.

"In June, we had a negative cash flow balance of $7 million, and after Prop. 30, the balance was a negative $470,000," Harrington said Tuesday while presenting her Second Interim Budget Report to the Ukiah Unified School District's board of directors, explaining that amount doesn't "take into account the recent negotiations (with the Ukiah Teachers Association) that will come before the district next week."

Harrington said that while not all of the dramatic swing in the cash flow balance can be attributed to Prop. 30, the district will be receiving an additional $6 million because of it.

A looming challenge for this year and beyond will be the federal budget cuts known as Sequestration, which Harrington said could carve as much as 8.2 percent out of the district's budget next year.

"It is really hitting the school sites," said Superintendent Debra Kubin. "They're really having to make decisions on what they will fund and not fund based on sequestration.

"It's just a shame that this money is going away," Harrington said, describing the $615,000 reduction in funding as causing "big time cuts to school sites. And maybe sequestration won't occur, but at this point we have to plan as if it is."

Harrington said Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal, though it hasn't become law, contains even more money for the district in the form of the Local Control Funding Formula.

Board member Megan Van Sant said she understood that even if the LCFF wasn't enacted as is, the district would "still get a minimum of at least $1 million."

"Yes, and I think we may actually get more than $1.4 million," Harrington said. "Even if the LCFF is not implemented, we'd still get more money."

Harrington said the district is still spending more than it brings in, leading to deficit spending of $910,842 for this year, $1.298 million next year and $1.47 million for 2014-15.

"Our significant fund balances help with that, and we're looking into external loans for Phase 4 construction at Ukiah High School," she said. "Your conservative CBO recommends a balanced approach, and you do need to be aware of cash flow implications."

"When can the board give input on what it would like to see in the budget?" asked Van Sant, adding that last year as a new board member when she tried to give input, she was told it was too late.

"Yes, Megan and I brought a list, but we were told it was too late to make changes," recalled Anne Molgaard, who joined the board at the same time.

"In May, we should come to you for your ideas about enhancements," said Kubin, and Harrington said the budget should be finalized in June.

Van Sant said she was surprised to learn that the district's food service program was $72,000 under budget, when not all of the schools had salad bars for the students, which she understood was because of there not being enough money.

"And I don't want to hear later that we have extra money in the transportation budget, because we were told we couldn't implement changes (such as a later start time at UHS) because there wasn't enough money to do them," she said.

The school board will be holding another special meeting Tuesday at noon for Disclosure and Certification of Negotiated Salary Increases.

Justine Frederiksen can be reached at udjjf@ukiahdj.com, on Twitter @JustFrederiksen or at 468-3521.